For the past five years, Reprise! has moved closer and closer to
fully-staged musical productions, and I have applauded each addition of
choreography, costumes, props and set pieces as if it were the parade of
animals at the beginning of The Lion King. But the current
production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes demonstrates the downside of
attempting to present a full-scale production of a musical on a shoestring
budget with only two weeks of rehearsal time. The result is a
dully-paced, under-rehearsed production which lacks the giddy charm to
which it aspires.

Alice Ripley stars as Lorelei Lee, a woman who, having been born
several decades too early for Fox Television, is left to her own devices
to find a millionaire to marry. She is not too bright; she knows she
really wants a diamond tiara, but has no clue where on the body a tiara is
worn. Ripley has some adorable bits relating to Lorelei's ignorance. She
kicks up her legs whenever she kisses someone, she always confuses her
pronouns, and she can't seem to fan herself with a large feather fan
without repeatedly hitting herself in the face with feathers. But little
bits of business do not establish a complete character, and Ripley doesn't
seem very comfortable in Lorelei's shoes. Nor is she comfortable with her
lines; at the performance reviewed, she tripped over several lines, and
curiously drew out the words in several others, as though she was trying
to remember what to say next. Ripley has a beautiful singing voice, and
her rendition of Lorelei's songs, particularly "I'm Just A Little Girl
From Little Rock," is the strongest part of her performance. Whenever
Lorelei sings, she seems a smarter and more confident character. Had this
production not bothered with the book at all, or had they given Ripley adequate
time to create a fully-fleshed character, Ripley's Lorelei Lee likely
would have been more successful.

The rest of the cast, having more manageable tasks, fare better. And
yet, they all could crank up their goofiness a notch. It is as
though they acknowledge that Lorelei was supposed to be the eye-catcher
of the piece, and nobody wants to outshine her. But the show, about a
diamond-loving girl trying to manipulate men to her ends, requires
bigger-than-life characters and fast pacing. This production hits those
ridiculous comic heights only rarely. Ian Abercrombie, as Sir Francis
Beekman, an older lech who thinks he has a chance with Lorelei, sings
"It's Delightful Down in Chile" with reckless abandon. Greg Zerkle,
playing Josephus Gage, the wrong millionaire for Lorelei, sings his
tribute to roughage ("I'm Atingle, I'm Aglow"), with hilarious sincerity.
Rod Keller and Jeffrey Schecter also deliver as two incomprehensible
French policemen whose fast-talking takes Lorelei, and the entire
production, by surprise. But the bulk of the show, although sweet enough,
just lacks the speed and comic intensity to be a two-and-half-hour
escapist romp.

Near the end of the show, one of the cast members (an underused Ruth
Williamson) steps to the edge of the stage and breaks the fourth wall in
order to recruit an audience member to take part in the final scene. This
is purportedly done to cover a costume change, yet this is difficult to
believe, given that the bulk of the costume changes involve only the
change of an overskirt or wrap. Once the scene starts up again, the
audience member reads his line, the rest of the audience applauds him, and
the play ends in less than a minute. The interruption stops dead any
momentum the show may have established going into its finale, and in its
brief final moments, the cast has no real opportunity to recapture it,
leaving the show to end awkwardly.

The orchestra in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is down to eight
musicians, certainly the smallest Reprise! has used for a production this
year. Although the downsized orchestra does not sound inadequate, it is
symptomatic of the overall problem with the production. Reprise! has
temporarily lost its way. When their productions still retained the heart
of concert musicals, the use of inexpensive costumes and props was a
wonderful bonus, and the productions were quaintly charming in their
cheapness and lack of polish. But when Reprise! aims broader and
unapologetically attempts to deliver a full production, the cheapness
simply looks cheap, and the underprepared performers in a badly-paced
production are not as easily forgiven.